Aka-nyan
by Mouth Sealed
Summary: Midorima who is still at loss due to his team's defeat, accidentally drops his tomorrow's lucky item, a bottle with curious liquid inside! Gets eaten by his curiosity and his teammates' persuasion, Akashi licks a tiny drop of it and grows cat ears and tail! Luckily—or not, it's Kagami who finds out first about his change. What will Akashi do next? Will Kagami cooperate with him?
1. Chapter 1

"CHEERS!"

The sound of glasses tinkling was heard inside the small but crowded restaurant in the midst of bustling Tokyo. The sun has already set a few hours ago and now the city lights were twinkling in various colors, keeping the city alive.

A group of tall boys were seen sitting circling a table placed in a corner of the room, all of them with their heads down. How they wished they were the ones who were laughing and drinking happily like the people across them. But they couldn't bring themselves to do that after their loss in the match against Rakuzan High.

"It's really depressing…" Midorima mumbled to himself, his fingers were tangling each other under the table. His eyes were staring blankly toward the red bean juice that just arrived a few minutes ago. Even his favorite drink couldn't lift up his mood.

'_To think I even have bought tomorrow's lucky item…_' Midorima sighed, feeling dejected.

Both of them couldn't come up with anything to reply Midorima, so once again they were wrapped in deafening silence. It was when the entrance door to the restaurant was slid open by someone that their attention was shifted.

Midorima's eyes twitched as it found a group of boys in jerseys which design he quickly recognized it hurt.

Then again, was there any other high school which jerseys were in white and powder blue, with the wearers emanating such ominous aura?

As much as he hated meeting his former captain in a place like this and not to mention just a few hours after his loss, he couldn't just ignore him when the redhead came up to him to say his greetings.

"It is a surprise to see you here, Shintarō, and all of you, too…" Akashi said in a flat tone as he lifted the corners of his lips slightly. He could see the members of Shūtoku High basketball team barely acknowledged his presence as they were still trapped in a somewhat gloomy atmosphere.

"Just why are you here?" Midorima couldn't help but venting out his frustration. It was as if Akashi knew that they were here and came in purpose, just to mock them. Although he knew better that Akashi's pride wouldn't let him do such cheap tricks.

"Eikichi was being very noisy, saying he was so hungry he could die," Akashi answered truthfully as the other members of Rakuzan High basketball team walked toward an empty table placed a few meters from Midorima's and his friends' table, across the reception desk. "It is understandable, though. Since we immediately went to watch Kaijō's and Seirin's match just after our match."

Midorima didn't say anything in response for a few good seconds, until he opened his mouth and said, "But this couldn't get any worse, right?"

Just after he let those words out, the entrance door was once again slid open, and this time was a group of super noisy people—most noticeably, a huge boy with red hair that gradated into black toward the ends.

"What luck you have, Shintarō…" Akashi chuckled lightly. "Are you sure you bought the right item for today?"

Before Midorima could even give a retort, the huge boy and his gang that were standing in front of the reception desk were already behaving embarrassingly, gasping so loud they could suck a galaxy, before pointing their fingers toward the same point and opened their mouths in unison.

"**SCISSORS GUY!**"

"**MASCARA GUY!**"

"**MIDO/AKA! KYAAAAA!**"

"…What a noisy restaurant," Akashi complained, his eyebrows furrowing.

Completely ignoring the restaurant waiter who was showing their table, the members of Seirin High basketball team instead walked toward Midorima and Akashi, without forgetting to cringe dramatically as they walked past Rakuzan High basketball members' table.

"Good evening, Akashi-kun, Midorima-kun," Kuroko gave his greetings as he bowed courteously. "And you guys, too."

"Seriously, this table couldn't get any noisier," Takao who remained silent all this time finally talked. "We were here to mourn for our loss, what are you guys doing here? Showing off your wins?" he nattered as he rubbed his aching temples.

"I'm sorry, but…" Kuroko shook his head. "Kagami-kun here was being very noisy, saying he was so hungry he could die," Kuroko answered.

"Did you realize that you just said the exact same thing as Akashi did, Kuroko?" Midorima groaned.

"Huh?"

"Never mind," Midorima sighed. "Tough match you got there, Seirin," he turned his head and looked at the rest of Seirin High basketball team members.

"We somehow managed to win, though," Hyūga, the captain, replied. He gave a genuinely happy smile. It was indeed, one of the best matches he ever had in his life.

"You've played well," Akashi noted.

He was still giving a thin smile before his eyes found the other's red ones, and his smile faded instantly.

"Well, if it is not Taiga Kagami…" he slithered, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Fancy seeing you here, Akashi…" Kagami replied, his voice hoarse.

Akashi averted his eyes as he smiled once again and said, "I guess I'm taking my leave now. I don't want to keep my team members waiting. Well then," he nodded slightly before taking a step and glared at Kagami who was clearly blocking his way.

"Make way," Akashi whispered to Kagami.

Kagami remained there, not budging at all, until Kuroko pulled Kagami's arm and said, "Kagami-kun. Please don't pick a fight in a place like this."

"I'm not," Kagami snorted. "Just the mere sight of him is revolting."

"That's what one should call 'picking a fight'," Kuroko's face remained expressionless despite the obvious apprehensive feeling. It was, after all, very difficult to tell the difference whether Akashi was angry or not.

"Tsk," Kagami relented as he took a step back, making a space for Akashi to pass through.

The former captain of Teikō Junior High School basketball team walked silently without saying anything, without even sparing a glance toward neither Kagami nor Kuroko. Kagami could only watch the svelte figure becoming smaller and smaller as he walked further.

* * *

"Aaah, that was one good meal," said the captain of Shūtoku High basketball team, Taisuke Ōtsubo, as he groaned and slumped in his chair. "It's a pity that we had to have an awkward situation back then, though."

Takao drew a bitter smile. "It's true, after all, that no winner can cheer up someone they just defeated," he continued before taking up his glass filled with green tea and drank it.

"I couldn't even say a thing back then," Ōtsubo sighed. "I'm sorry I couldn't make us win…"

"Hey, what the Hell are you saying!? How long are you gonna weep over that stuff?" replied Kiyoshi, who sat beside Ōtsubo, as he slapped the back of his captain to cheer him up. "You did well. All of us did," the blond grinned. "We have no other way but to improve. To win."

Midorima smiled. He used to think that the sole purpose of a team was to win and win only, with or without teamwork. The time he spent together with his teammates gradually changed the way of his basketball. Instead of fighting alone by himself, now he felt that he could grow stronger if he covered his teammates' weak points, and got his own weak points covered by his teammates.

"I know maybe I've said this before, but…" Midorima said as he fixed his glasses to hide his blushing cheeks. "I'm glad I got into this team."

The other members widened their eyes and remained silent for a few seconds, before grinning widely, laughing with each other.

"Hear that? Our Shin-chan just said something so embarrassing it's making me cry," Takao grinned as he literally wiped the tears that were rolling down his cheeks.

"Don't say that again, seriously," Kiyoshi pouted. "That's embarrassing!"

"We're thankful that you're in our team, too," said Shinsuke as he smiled brightly.

* * *

Not long after that, Shūtoku High basketball team members were already packing their stuffs and put on their jerseys. They waved to Seirin High basketball team members' table that was apparently a little bit too far and time-consuming to properly say goodbye, and to Akashi and his teammates' table as they walked toward the reception desk.

"We're going first," Midorima said to Akashi as he waited for Ōtsubo who were paying for their dinner.

"It was nice to meet you, Shintarō," Akashi smiled thinly.

"Hey, Shin-chan! We're leaving!" Takao—who was already in front of the entrance door—called out as he waved his hand toward Midorima.

"Well then," Midorima gave his last words before walking out of the restaurant.

* * *

"Can you clean that vacant table?" the restaurant manager said to one of his assistants as he was busy arranging the money Ōtsubo just paid.

Without wasting any time, the waitress walked briskly toward the table where Shūtoku High basketball team members ate their dinner. The waitress was already wiping the table with a wet table-cloth before her eyes found an ivory canvas pouch left under the table.

* * *

Akashi, who already finished his meal a long time ago, was watching in slight amazement at Nebuya, the glutton, who was still eating like a hungry animal despite his sixth bowl of beef rice.

Akashi took a lot of effort to keep his diet balanced, followed with routine exercise to keep his digestive system and body fit. He rarely—'never' is a strong word—ate instant foods, deep-fried foods, and any other foods that were of unbalanced substances that possibly could ruin his health. Most of the time he ate homemade foods mostly consisted of Japanese traditional foods, such as raw salmon and other types of fish.

Living such diet for as long as he could remember, it was only normal that seeing someone living off of such impossibly unbalanced diet made him surprised.

As much as he hated having this thought came up in his mind, he remembered Kuroko said, "_Kagami-kun here was being very noisy, saying he was so hungry he could die._"

Akashi averted his eyes from Nebuya to the table meters away from their table. His eyes found the figure he was looking for: The boy who was eating with his elbows on the table and the bowl right in front of his mouth, ravishing his meal like tomorrow would never come. He exactly looked like Nebuya's carbon copy.

Not long after that, a restaurant waitress came up to his table and said, "I'm sorry for intruding, but do you happen to be an acquaintance of the group that just ate on the table over there? The very tall boys in orange jerseys?"

"What is it?" Mibuchi, who was already done eating ages ago, replied.

"Um, someone might have left this pouch by accident," said the waitress.

Mibuchi glanced at Akashi who remained wordless.

"I believe it is Shintarō's," Akashi closed his eyes. "I am meeting him tomorrow, too. I can give it back to him," he said calmly before the waitress sighed in relief and gave over the mysterious pouch to him.

"…I've never seen a waitress handing over someone else's lost item ever before," Mibuchi mumbled as he stared at the pouch.

"Maybe they are used to having people involved in the Winter Cup around this time and assumed that no one really comes back for their lost items since they generally come from far places, just like us," Akashi replied.

"…And I'm sure I saw him holding this pouch under the table back then, too," the redhead continued.

"Are you a psychic or what?" Mibuchi cringed.

Hayama piped in, "Hey, don't you think that guy with glasses is a bit weird? I even heard during that our match he brought a shōgi piece. A 'lucky item' or something, they said."

Akashi exhaled as he drew up a faint smile. "He is one superstitious person. This, too, must be one of those 'lucky items'."

"Open it, open it!" Hayama got even more excited.

"That would be rude of me if I opened someone's item," Akashi refused.

"But just taking a peek won't hurt one bit!" Hayama pushed on. "C'mon!"

Akashi glanced down toward the curious pouch. He would be lying if he said he wasn't curious of what inside the pouch. He knew by touching it that it would be a small bottle made of glass, but what would be inside the bottle?

"I guess…" Akashi sighed.

He was still indecisive when he pulled the red rope that tied the canvas pouch, but when the pouch was opened, his doubts disappeared.

Inside the ivory canvas pouch was indeed, a bottle. Inside the transparent bottle with red cap made of plastic, was a liquid with thick consistency, in a more mysterious color of tosca green.

"Whoa…" Hayama gaped.

"Is that… a drink or something?" Mibuchi stared at the bottle, his eyes narrowed.

"Who knows," the heterochromatic-eyed captain answered. He put up the bottle to take a better look of the liquid inside. It wasn't mere tosca green liquid, apparently. There were many small, sand-like bristles all over the liquid. Its texture was identical to water-filled sand.

"Would you try that green stuff?" Hayama asked curiously.

"Do I look like I would risk my life for something so suspicious, Kotarō?" Akashi replied in sarcasm.

"C'mon, just a drop won't kill you!" Hayama still haven't found the limit of pushing Akashi.

Despite his earlier curt reply, he admitted that he wanted to know what the item really was. Relenting to his built up curiosity, Akashi opened the cap and pressed his index finger on the opening, making sure that the liquid wouldn't spill any more than a drop. He then licked the liquid.

"How was it!? Bitter!? It looks like a magic potion!" Hayama exclaimed.

"It tasted… nothing," Akashi answered as he closed the cap and put back the bottle into the ivory canvas pouch. He couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. He, too, thought it would taste bitter like a magic potion, judging by the color and the texture of the liquid.

"I thought it could transform you into an animal or something," Mibuchi frowned. "I guess such things really don't exist, huh?"

Akashi remained silent. He tied the red rope tightly and secured it, and put the pouch into his bag.

"Are you feeling anything?" Hayama still haven't given up on hoping that the liquid could do something magical.

"No," Akashi shook his head.

In a split of second, though, he felt like vomiting.

"…I'm going to the toilet," Akashi kept his calm outlook and stood up, before leaving the table.

"Maaan, nothing really happened, huh?" Hayama groaned in disappointment.

"Hey, what were you guys doing?" Eikichi, who just finished eating, finally piped in with his mouth still full of rice.

* * *

Akashi closed the toilet stall door hurriedly before desperately reaching for the toilet bowl, and vomited.

He kept coughing harshly. The extremely bitter taste of his vomit didn't help him at all, instead making him feel more nauseous.

Before long he flushed the toilet and closed the toilet bowl and sat on it, his elbows on his knees and his hands supporting his head. He felt so sick, so nauseous, his head was spinning around, everything around him looked psychedelic, and the silence in the toilet was borderline deafening.

'_Damn it,_' Akashi panted harshly. '_I was so careless…_'

He watched as cold sweat fell down onto the cold floor. It sickened him even more when he realized that he should wait a few more minutes until his body dried up from the sweat that couldn't stop flowing like a flood.

Slowly but sure he felt his sight grew weirder and weirder. At first it looked like everything around him was viewed through fish eye's lens, and then it turned normal again, and next it looked like the colors got even more saturated.

He was still trying to recuperate when he heard a knock on the door.

"Hey!"

'_Tsk. That Taiga Kagami…_' Akashi groaned inwardly.

"Hey!" Kagami kept knocking the door. "Akashi, you're inside, right? I saw you running into the toilet with that funny expression, so I thought something was up. Don't tell me you're planning on something fishy!?"

'_God, you are noisy…_'

"And just so you know, I'm not bowing down to you!" Kagami kept prancing around, while Akashi was still sitting on the toilet wordlessly. "You and your weird eyes! I don't care how your eyes work, but I'll definitely win! You hear that!?"

'_Shut up…_'

"Hey! Say something, damn it!" Kagami couldn't take being ignored completely like this anymore. He proceeded on turning the door knob, and before he could be surprised because the door wasn't locked, the sight before him could make him poke his eyeballs in complete disbelief.

There, sitting on the toilet, was Seijūrō Akashi, indeed, with his trademark red hair and heterochromatic eyes. His expression was still cavalier as ever, although right now he couldn't hide the pained expression very well.

But what made Kagami's jaw dropped wasn't the mighty figure before him that was sitting on the toilet like some salary man who just got fired and now jobless, but it was a pair of red, fluffy ears on his head, replacing the 'human' ears that were supposed to be placed parallel to his eyes, and the long, red tail, that swished around apprehensively.

Kagami's mouth kept moving, trying to say something, anything, but his voice just wouldn't cooperate with him.

Not long after that he finally managed to say a faint whisper, "A—Akashi?"

The mighty emperor narrowed his eyes, trying to retort back about how rude Kagami was for opening the toilet stall door without permission, but what came out of his mouth wasn't something he couldn't dream even in his wildest imagination.

"Meow?"

* * *

_**Author's Note -** Bubble is baaack! With another Kagami/Akashi story! It has been about three months since the last time I posted my last update. I miss you, my readers! This time is about Akashi with cat ears and tail! The idea just came up out of nowhere ages ago but now it's finally here for you to enjoy! Unlike the previous Kagami/Akashi story, this is lighter and hopefully will bring you smile and make your heart warm (because the mere idea of Akashi getting cat ears and tail is already a joke). I hope you like reading the slow development of Kagami's and Akashi's love to each other! Tell me what you think!_

_Okay, I'll see you later on the next chapter! Ta-ta!_


	2. Chapter 2

"Don't you think Kagami-kun is taking his time a little too long?" Kuroko mumbled after he swallowed a bite of small-sized pork rice, in contrast to Kagami's five bowls of large-sized beef rice.

"Probably he ate too much so his stomach got upset," Aida, the young coach answered without even thinking for a second, her mouth busy munching on her food. "It's annoying how he manages to stay normal-weight despite being a glutton," she continued as she stirred the pork rice covered with half-cooked eggs.

Kuroko nodded silently as he scooped another spoonful of his pork rice. Despite Aida's words, he was still having this unsettling feeling. As far as he knew, Kagami wasn't the type to get sick easily, more so when it involved foods (except everything that Aida made). He kept pondering whether he should go check on Kagami or not, but in the end he decided to do just that because everyone else didn't look like they care one bit.

"…I will go check on him," Kuroko insisted as he put back his spoon and rose up from his chair.

* * *

"Kagami-kun?" Kuroko called as soon as he reached the toilet. "Kagami-kun? Are you o… kay?"

His eyes widened for at most a millimeter when he saw Kagami and Akashi bickering. He wouldn't be this shocked if it was just Kagami and Akashi fighting; it was the sound of a cat hissing and growling and the disappearance of Akashi's human ears, which were replaced with a pair of cat-like, furry animal ears that of the same shade of Akashi's hair color (he wondered if Akashi actually has a secret hobby of cosplaying and somehow found a new technique to conceal his ears). And a tail. **A tail.**

"Would you calm down!? Hey, Akashi! I just want to take a closer look!" Kagami struggled to keep the resisting Akashi—who kept hissing and meowing, his ears and tail stood up sharply—down. The latter kept refusing to be held down, despite having already marred Kagami's bronze skin with bite marks and scratches.

'_**You**_ _stop bothering me._' Akashi wished he could get his message across. It disturbed so much to have this giant neanderthal sticking so close to him, to have his freedom snitched, and worse, to have someone loomed over him, trying to hold him down.

"**I SAID, STOP IT!**" Kagami finally snapped and pinned Akashi on the cold wall made of tiles, his big hands secured Akashi's smaller ones.

It was when the heavy pressure finally came down that Kagami started to feel pain coming from the fresh wounds Akashi just inflicted. He narrowed his eyes when he saw a long scratch on his arm, alongside a fresh bite mark on the crook between his thumb and wrist. He should give Akashi some score for wounding him a lot despite his lithe body.

"…So you really can't speak human anymore?" Kagami sighed tiredly as he looked down to the panting Akashi. He noticed that beside a pair of cat ears and tail, Akashi also grew two pairs of sharp canine teeth on his upper and bottom jaws, which made all the deep bite marks possible.

"Just what the fuck happened?" Kagami asked again, not caring whether Akashi hasn't even answered his previous question yet. Instead, the smaller boy glared menacingly at Kagami—as if throwing daggers—with his heterochromatic eyes.

"Now, now. You don't look scary anymore with those cute ears, you know?" Kagami grinned, his chest filled with pride, feeling superior. He finally has the redhead right under his skin. Wait, that sounded lewd… Whatever. He didn't even care why and how Akashi has become like this, as long as this midget snobby brat stopped blurting out foul remarks of him.

He could still hear Akashi hissing and struggling, although it seemed like he already has lost his strength from all the brawling earlier.

"Kagami-kun, what happened?" a serene voice suddenly popped from behind.

"**WHOA! KUUUROOOKOOO! YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART-ATTACK!**" Kagami jumped.

"But… I was here a long time ago…" Kuroko replied as his tepid eyes watched Akashi's small body trapped between Kagami and the wall. He really looked like a midget, standing side-by-side with Kagami. Oops, he shouldn't let his ex-captain know he just let in such thoughts to his brain.

Kagami cleared his throat and exhaled, his heartbeat that has barely went down after the fight with Akashi flied high again due to the shock of Kuroko's appearance. That nearly-transparent boy definitely should learn how to make a proper entrance.

"So… About Akashi-kun…" Kuroko started once more.

"I don't know, and we'll never know since this punk can't speak human anymore," Kagami snickered. He knew he was being really mean, considering how Akashi—without having Kagami interfering—nearly died in shock after finding out that he could only meow and that he grew a pair of cat ears and tail (his expression was priceless to Kagami). To top it off, Akashi didn't really pick a fight with him since he remained silent all the time. But in his defense, it was Akashi's attitude that screamed 'I don't give a fuck about idiots like you so get out of my sight' that annoyed him to no end.

Kuroko studied the situation for a brief second before saying, "That's enough, Kagami-kun… Tomorrow we're having our match. The most important thing is to cure Akashi-kun, somehow."

Kagami scoffed, not wanting to stop pinning Akashi down, but let go of his hands anyway. He fixed his jersey, sweeping off strands of Akashi's red hair with his hand as he made his way to the mirror across of them. Despite being small, Akashi sure made a mess out of him. It annoyed Kagami all over again, but when he saw the redhead remained motionless on the same spot, he sighed, withdrawing.

"Let's go, Kuroko," Kagami called as he walked out of the toilet.

"But, tomorrow…"

Kagami wanted to ignore Akashi since it was Akashi, the boy who always treated him like garbage with his ruthless words, thrusting scissors right toward him, and shamed him on the court full of people by pushing him down so graciously. Overlooking the match tomorrow, Akashi did deserve to be turned into a cat. Half-cat.

But on the other hand, Kagami has been looking forward to having a match with the ex-captain of Teikō Junior High basketball team, and it only made him even more eager to face Akashi after he saw him executing the match with Midorima skillfully.

"…But all these aside, you sure take this reality easily, Kuroko," Kagami didn't even care if his words made sense. Nevertheless, he walked back toward Akashi who again, glared at him sharply.

"How did it come to this?" Kagami asked Akashi, this time he tried to lower down his voice, making everything as peaceful as he could.

Akashi stayed silent. His pride refused to be helped by someone he would face tomorrow, but if things remained the same, he would have no choice but to step down from tomorrow's match.

So, swallowing his pride like a very bitter medicine, he raised his arms and stick his index fingers and thumbs together into two circles, and drew his hands to his eyes. When Kagami and Kuroko nodded, Akashi tapped the sides of his hair, and then pointed out to a green caution sticker attached on the stall door.

"Midorima-kun?" Kuroko guessed.

Akashi nodded.

"Whoa, Kuroko… You should get a job as a mentalist in the future." Kagami gaped in surprise.

"No, Kagami-kun. I don't want to. If I were to have an alternate job, that would be a kindergarten teacher."

"HUH!? Kindergarten teacher!? That's so uncool!" Kagami scoffed. "Me, I wanna be a fireman!"

"…Kagami-kun, that's a cool occupation, but I doubt you can do it…"

"**WHAT!? SAY THAT AGAIN!?**" Kagami roared, feeling underestimated.

"…" Akashi face-palmed inwardly.

"Ahem. Yes, so, what's this Midorima guy doing?" Kagami turned back into the topic.

Akashi wondered how to gesture a bottle, but before he could even move his hands, Kuroko said, "I'm sorry if I got this wrong, but maybe Akashi-kun ate something given by Midorima-kun? Midorima-kun always brings strange things…"

Akashi nodded in relief. Actually he _drank_ something and Midorima didn't give it to him, but betraying his strict personality, he let it pass. As long as the point wasn't too far off.

"…Then we should go to Midorima, right?" Kagami pondered. "Hmmm… But, Kuroko. You said you wanted to say something about… Uh…" Kagami stopped when he realized that the boy in question was with them right now.

"We can go back to your apartment after that," Kuroko answered.

"My apartment!? You can't just decide things by yourself! That's _my_ apartment! Mine!" Kagami roared again.

"Kagami-kun, it's not healthy to get angry so easily." Kuroko warned the fuming taller boy. "The more time we spend here, the less time we have left. Let's go, Akashi-kun."

Akashi remained silent as he peeled off his jersey and used it to cover his ears, and put in his tail into his pants. He realized Kuroko has become more… cheerful, if that was how to put it. And stupider. Akashi wondered if it was really true that if one spent their time with stupid people, they would become stupid as well.

Which would be very dangerous for him. He shouldn't associate too much with Kagami.

He got out of the toilet first, followed by Kuroko. Kagami was being reluctant at first, but he followed anyway.

* * *

When they got back into the crowded restaurant, Kuroko and Kagami stopped by their team's table and said that they would leave first because Akashi wasn't feeling too well.

"This is the first time I've ever heard someone would take care of the one they're fighting with the day after just because he's sick!" Hyūga exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"But we want to win a fair match, don't we?" Kuroko reasoned, to which the rest of the team reluctantly nodded in agreement.

"But why it has to be you?" Koganei piped in.

"…Don't worry. Kagami said it's okay for us to stop by his apartment and have the second dinner there," Kuroko smiled thinly.

"Don't put words in my mouth, Kuroko."

"Kagami's home-cooked foods…" the rest of the team drooled, imagining how delicious Kagami's foods were the last time he cooked for them. After eating the deadly delicacies Aida made, it was only normal for them to rave on Kagami's delicious foods. "We always have another stomach for Kagami's foods…"

"Then, we're meeting at his apartment," Kiyoshi grinned.

"Don't say it so professionally when you're only looking forward to the second dinner, Kiyoshi."

"I'm sorry." Kiyoshi apologized, though his face remained the same.

"Well then, it seems Akashi-kun has finished talking with his teammates as well…" Kuroko said as he peeked toward Akashi who was already walking out of the restaurant. He wondered how Akashi managed to talk with his teammates although he could only meow.

"We'll see you there. Bye," Kagami finally said his goodbye, giving up. It was his apartment but he felt like it belonged to his teammates instead.

* * *

"Akashi-kun, sorry for waiting." Kuroko called as they got out of the restaurant. "I've been wondering, but… did your teammates get suspicious?"

Silently, Akashi put out a small notebook out of the pocket of his pants and wrote on it.

[_I told them my throat got hurt because I drank Midorima's lucky item._]

Before Kagami could even peek from behind their short backs, Akashi has already closed the notebook and looked back, glaring toward Kagami as if wanting to rip him into pieces.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Kagami shrugged, before whispering to himself. "Damn midgets."

Akashi was about to stab Kagami with his pen, but Kuroko has already grabbed his arm and tried to calm him down, "A—Akashi-kun, we need to find Midorima-kun now. I'll call him right away."

Akashi relented and put his pen into the pocket of his pants, and they resumed their walking.

They were walking slowly as Kuroko talked with Midorima over the phone. It actually made the hair all over Akashi's body stood up endlessly to have Kagami walking right behind him, his big figure looming over, covering every source of light and made everything near him looked darker. Akashi tried to walk faster but Kagami's long legs could always catch up to him.

It didn't take too long until the heterochromatic-eyed boy couldn't take it anymore. He turned his back and roared angrily, trying to tell Kagami to back off and stay away from him. "Rawr! Rawr! Rawr!"

Kagami paused for a second. Akashi stopped roaring, thinking that the taller boy finally got his share of scolding. In contrary, though, the taller boy laughed so hard he squatted on the ground, holding his hurting stomach.

"**HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ****HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ****HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! **GOD, YOU'RE SO FUNNY!"

Akashi bit his lips angrily. It was so embarrassing he could die!

"Ah, Akashi-kun, Midorima-kun said we could meet up at the park near here… Akashi-kun?" Kuroko said after cutting the call as he turned his back slowly, only to find Akashi bashing his bag repeatedly onto Kagami's head, and the latter could only curled up like a turtle.

No one but Kagami and Akashi knew how heavy Akashi's bag was.

Kagami decided he would get an x-ray checkup later.

* * *

The transparent bottle with thick tosca green liquid inside was brought up for a clear view. The fingers that were holding the bottle up in the air were wrapped tightly with ivory bandages. The hand twirled slowly, moving the bottle, so the green eyes of the bottle holder could see it from as many angle as possible.

"Honestly I just bought it from a random second-hand shop near my house," Midorima, who barely reached his house by the time Kuroko called, had to go back all the way to the park near the restaurant. "Who would have known this could turn you into this?"

Him, Kagami, Akashi, and Kuroko, were sitting facing each other in the dimly-lit park. It was so cold they felt like freezing, but the problem of the matter was far more important than getting cold. After all, one of the four, the short boy with heterochromatic eyes, suddenly grew cat ears and tail, lost the ability to speak human, and should be on the final match of Winter Cup in just a few hours.

"Are you saying that there's nothing we can do?" Kagami sighed. Akashi's behavior up to this point was anything but benefiting to him, but even the last drop of his conscience gave him this tickling feeling of pity. It moved his soft heart even more when he peeked toward Akashi and found the pale boy with his back curled, his hands covering his face. Kagami wondered what kind of face Akashi was making right now.

"Well, I do remember the seller said not to play around with this potion, but…" Midorima fixed his glasses. "I can go to the store tomorrow, though. It's already so late."

"But the match…" Kagami's shoulders drooped.

Akashi, who remained silent up until now finally uncovered his face. Due to his curiosity, Kagami quickly turned his head to see Akashi's face, only to be disappointed because the redhead's face was still as tough as ever. He watched as Akashi took out the small notebook and pen of his pocket and wrote something on it, before shoving it up to Midorima's face.

[_Your match is not until 4PM, so we should have enough time if we move fast from the morning. Sorry to trouble you, but show me the second-hand shop you bought this from._]

"Although it's hardly my fault," Midorima shrugged after he read Akashi's message. "That's why I've been telling you many times before, right? Don't let your curiosity gets the better of you."

"Midorima-kun…" Kuroko tried to pacify Midorima. Up to this point, Akashi only got scolding after scolding instead of support that everything would be alright. He couldn't deny that he felt amazed by how Akashi remained his cool and didn't seem to be disheartened one bit. After all, even after knowing Akashi for so many years, Kuroko has yet to find out Akashi's weakness.

"Tomorrow morning we'll meet at this park again. That second-hand shop's owner is a morning person; last time I met him was at five in the morning. We should be fine if we go to the store around that time." Midorima said as he stood up and put his bag strap on his shoulder.

"Okay," Kuroko nodded as he stood up as well.

They watched as Midorima turned his back and left. It was Kagami's turn to stand up.

"So we're leaving now?" he asked Kuroko.

Both of them turned their heads toward Akashi in unison.

"Akashi-kun, could it possibly that you're staying with your teammates together?"

Akashi nodded silently.

"I wonder if it's okay for you…" Kuroko mumbled, before his eyes brightened as if an idea just popped inside his head. "Ah, Kagami-kun, since your apartment is so big, why don't you—"

"**NO.**" Kagami refused flatly. "If you think you can come up with another crazy idea involving **my** apartment, then sorry, but find another person that wants to have this snobby stray cat in their house."

'_As if I want to stay at your apartment,_' Akashi rolled his eyes.

"But, then, where are you staying tonight, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko asked Akashi politely.

Akashi scribbled some more message on his notebook which has became his tool of communication. [_I can stay a night at a hotel._]

'_I totally forgot that Akashi-kun is very rich,_' Kuroko exhaled inwardly.

"Then, we'll meet tomorrow morning at the same place."

* * *

_**Author's Note** - Hello! Bubble here! It was so hard to write this chapter since my story and the manga are overlapping. I've been like, typing and deleting and typing, just so that the story remains as canon as possible. I know, I shouldn't have set the timeline like this… I'm only torturing myself… But! With this chapter, I hope you can read the manga and imagine that Akashi just turned into a half-cat the night before the final match. LOL._

_And, and, and, have you guys read the newest chapteeers!? OMG. BABY AKASHI! He was so short! HAHAHAHAHA. I'm sorry, Akashi, but I see you as anything but cool during your junior high days. Your narrow shoulders, big head, and tiny body didn't match your cool words at all._

_Also, I'm very happy that this story gets good reviews and response! Thank you for reading and see you on the next chapter! Tell me what you think in your reviews!_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note** – I hate to say this, but unfortunately, I had to change the timeline of this story due to the manga being painfully long with the flashback chapters. I haven't updated this story for so long so it would be wonderful if you've forgotten when the story takes place, but for those who still remember, I'm sorry. I'm still trying to fix the first two chapters, so please just read this in the mean time! Thank you!_

* * *

Akashi looked around cautiously as he sat on a bench in the park as promised. He knew full well how hideous he looked right now: Wrapped in dark grey hooded sweater and a black coat. It wasn't the hoodies and the coat that made him look suspicious, though, but the triple-layer of a dark red beanie hat, the hood of the sweater, and finally, the hood of the coat. He made it that way just because the cursed cat ears couldn't stay still and twitched every fucking single time he paid attention to his surroundings, which unfortunately, he did so very often due to his careful nature.

Not to mention it hurt _so_ much to keep his tail inside his pants. It felt like stuffing your hand into a narrow pipe. Plus he _hated_ how the fluffy tail kept rubbing on his legs, making him itchy all over.

'_Just what have I done to deserve this…_' Akashi sighed, tired of everything. He has never have the taste of losing, but he was sure it wouldn't feel as hurt as being forced to turn into a cat against his consent and have his ability to speak stripped completely off of him.

Just before he got trapped into yet another endless thought, his ears twitched involuntary when he heard a loud, tiger-like voice calling his name.

'_Why in the world…_' Akashi grunted in annoyance which—to his embarrassment—sounded like a cat screeching.

"Wow, wow!" Kagami laughed happily as he jogged his way toward Akashi. "Wow! Look at you! You look like a burglar!"

'_One of these days I would end up killing this idiot,_' Akashi glared at Kagami angrily. He tried to ignore the taller boy this time, however, since whatever he tried to speak out, ended up sounding like a toy duck squeaking. Instead, he looked around for Midorima—while ignoring Kagami in a way too obvious fashion (plus, he wanted to make a statement there)—the only one who could help him cure this 'disease'.

"Yesterday after we talked, there was this midnight flea market thing around, so you know, since I felt a little bit sympathetic to you, I bought this hat," Kagami started the conversation—his stupidity couldn't connect with Akashi's sarcasm—as he opened his huge backpack and pulled out a red hat with cat ears.

Akashi rolled his eyes. Just how stupid could this Neanderthal get…

"It's perfect, right? It has holes! Cat ears' holes!" Kagami grinned proudly. He bet Akashi would stop degrading him from now on since he knew how painful it would be to stack that many layers on his head. Akashi would be very grateful to him, or even more, start worshiping him!

Akashi just stared at Kagami in silence as the latter man grinned to himself, his white teeth were shown proudly, in whatever delusion he was having.

Hah, must be something stupid.

Indeed, wearing just a light hat would be a thousand times more comfortable, but couldn't this idiot pick a less hideous hat than this bright red color? Akashi stared at the hat intently. But he was starting to feel pain coming from his strained ears, not to mention it was so hot around his scalp area… But… But…

As if moving by itself, his hand grabbed the hat from Kagami's hold.

He looked around, but no one else was there beside them, so he quickly took off his hoods and beanie hat and put on the newly bought hat as quick as possible.

"Hey!" Kagami reacted too late. He was about to get angry to Akashi for being so rude, but when he saw the heterochromatic-eyed boy purred happily and comfortably, he felt like blushing.

'_So… So cuuute!_' Kagami squealed. Inwardly, of course. There was no way he could swoon directly. And mind you, he wasn't swooning over Akashi for himself, but because of the cute purring sound.

Yup, not over Akashi for himself.

Akashi stood there in silence, watching as Kagami was sucked into yet another stupid hallucination, until he felt like this wouldn't get anywhere, so he took out a pocket-sized notebook and a pen and started writing on the paper.

[_Where's Shintarō?_] he shoved the notebook on Kagami's face.

"Since when have I become his mom?" Kagami shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

This time, even the ever-so-calm emperor couldn't stop himself from growling, and before Kagami had the time to laugh at his funny voice, he already threw his dark red beanie hat right on the taller boy's face, and walked briskly away from the roaring tiger.

'_There he is,_' Akashi's upper lip twitched. He walked toward Midorima who just got off of a bus, carrying a big jar of shower gel from The Body Shop.

"Ah, Akashi," Midorima fixed his glasses as he noticed his ex-captain walking toward him. "I thought it would be easy to find a shower gel near here, but I couldn't find any drugstore nearby so I had to go to the nearest mall, which wasn't near at all, to get this," he showed the yellow, Moringa-scented shower gel to Akashi.

'_And why should I care?_' Akashi was dying to spell that out to Midorima, but he hold himself down and instead wrote another sentence on his notebook.

[_Shall we head to the store now?_] Akashi showed to notebook to Midorima.

"Yes. We have to take another bus from here…" Midorima scooted away to look at the bus schedule. "The bus will come in a few minutes… Actually, we shouldn't have met here today and instead picked a place closer to the city…" Midorima sighed as he grabbed his lucky item tightly.

"AND WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TWO IGNORING ME!?" Kagami roared as he ran toward Akashi and Midorima.

"Oh, you're here, too," Midorima narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What business do you have here, anyway?"

"Nothing!" Kagami answered proudly.

"Ah, here comes the bus…" Midorima decided to ignore Kagami, like Akashi did since ages ago.

As soon as the bus stopped in front of the bus stop, Midorima and Akashi stepped in, followed by Kagami, and Kuroko.

_…Kuroko?_

"**KUROKO!?**" Kagami jumped in shock as he looked down to the boy that was already behind him. Kuroko just stood there as if nothing strange has happened, instead looking at Kagami in an expression that said, '_Why are you looking at me like that?_'

"Kagami-kun, the bus driver is waiting…" Kuroko mumbled when he saw the bus driver waiting impatiently for Kagami to pay for the trip.

"Ah—Sorry." Kagami grinned sheepishly as he put in two 100 Yen coins into the box and walked further into the bus, Akashi and Midorima already standing securely near the exit door, as if they were ready to jump out of the bus anytime.

"Kuroko!?" Midorima widened his eyes comically when he noticed that Kuroko was riding the bus, too. "Since when?"

"Good morning, Midorima-kun. I've been with Akashi-kun from the start, then a few minutes later Kagami-kun came," Kuroko answered honestly, his expression was as tepid as usual.

Akashi blinked in response. He didn't even notice that anyone was with him when he was waiting at the park until Kagami came. Truthfully he still couldn't find the logic behind Kuroko's lack of presence. It wasn't normal.

* * *

After an hour trip, they finally arrived at the store. True to its nature, the store was really run-down, without any banner that claimed that this was a store, just a really old and rusty goldfish statue placed right beside the entrance door.

"Whoa, how fishy…" Kagami stared at the store appearance carefully. Before he knew it, the other three boys have already walked into the store, and he had no choice but strutted right inside as well.

Inside the store wasn't less suspicious. It was really dark inside, with windows covered tightly with wooden planks, and the only source of light being three candles placed sporadically around the tiny room.

"Welcome," a rugged voice was heard from behind the counter.

"Ah, good morning," Midorima bowed slightly toward the elderly woman. "I—"

"I see your friend has consumed my potion, yes?" the store owner cut off Midorima's sentence as her eyes have already turned toward Akashi.

Everyone was really taken aback by the store owner's words, and both nodded in harmony.

"Luckily, he must have drunk a sip or less of it, since he's still a human. HAHAHAHAHA!" the store owner laughed maniacally, the sound echoed all over the dark room.

"Kuroko, I'm scared…" Kagami could feel cold sweat dripping from his jaws.

"Kagami-kun, it's okay. She's not a dog," Kuroko whispered in response.

"So… Can you please return him back to normal?" Midorima braved himself and asked the store owner who was still giggling indistinctly.

"Yes, yes, of course there's a way to return him back," the store owner cleared her throat. "That, that you've drunk, my boy, was a love potion.

"It was a 90-year-old potion, which I formulated when I was still a young girl…

"So there was this very handsome upperclassman who I loved very much… He was the Student Council president… Very handsome, and every girl in my school adored him so much… One day, when I fell down in the hallways, he helped me tidy up the books that came out of my school bag…

"Oh, and that school bag… My great grandmother made that for my mother. It was handmade, you know… My mother said she spent three months in the mountains just to find the right lamb for the bag! But regrettably, the bag broke when I fell that time… But that doesn't anymore, since I got to see the love of my life…

"And then, when there was a cooking class, he came into my class just to give me a lost pen that was completely forgotten at that time…

"Then, when there was a school camp—"

"Um, so about the potion…" Midorima had to cut her off or it would take a lifetime for her to finish her love story, which most likely pathetically remained an unrequited love until the end.

"Ah, boy. You should have told me off sooner, I can't stop when I'm already blabbing about that story! Even my daughter runs away every time I start talking about him!** HAHAHAHAHA!**" the store owner laughed loudly again.

"Ahem," the store owner cleared her throat and put on a serious expression. "So, you. Yes, you, the red-haired boy," she nodded at Akashi. "You have to find someone you love with all of your heart. Your true love. When you find it, the curse will be lifted.

"After all, when your love is true, you don't need words to communicate with your loved one, right? And cats are cute, too…"

The boys remained flabbergasted for good five seconds, until a snort was heard coming from Kagami.

"_Pffft—_" Kagami choked on his own spit. "Hahaha… **HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**" Kagami laughed so hard he cried. He swore it was the best laugh he has ever had, the second was when he heard Akashi meowed pathetically last night. "Oh, my dear grandma, then he might as well remain a half-cat forever!

"Akashi, falling in love!? In your dreams! **HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**"

"Akashi-kun…" Kuroko tilted his head so he could see Akashi's face in the dim-lit room more clearly. Kuroko suddenly felt a big lump of empathy coming in his heart as he saw Akashi's dejected face, which Akashi himself couldn't hide anymore.

Akashi didn't even cry; he literally just stood there like a statue, but Kuroko could see cold sweat dripping down his temples and his hands shaking.

Kagami stopped laughing when Kuroko and Midorima looked at Akashi in sympathy.

"Hey, you're not even gonna get angry to me?" Kagami grinned sheepishly as he took a step forward to see Akashi.

Instantly, his grin disappeared as he watched as Akashi glared at him, his eyes glinting despite the dark room. It wasn't glinting because of mere angriness, though. Kagami could swear he saw a line of tears just behind Akashi's eyes' waterlines.

Even at this time, Akashi tried to compose himself.

"Hey, I'm sorry, okay?" Kagami apologized.

Without even sparing the taller boy a glance, though, Akashi shoved his shoulder roughly and walked out of the store.

* * *

_**Author's Note –** YEY, AN UPDATE! This has unexpectedly turned angsty. LOL. I had no proofreader this time, and I just uploaded this chapter as is without any editing beforehand, so please excuse any grammatical errors in this chapter. I'm still working on editing the first two chapters, so the revised chapters should be up in a week or so…_

_Tell me what you think about this chapter in your comment!_


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